Chapter 254: First-Layer Qi Refining

Lu Bai put on the Mountain Demon Hat and silently approached the great tomb, glancing at the nearby mountain peak.

He didn’t know what had happened inside the mountain to make its peak explode, revealing the great tomb.

Otherwise, the tomb of the First True Monarch, hidden within this peak in the Longling Mountain Range, would likely have remained undiscovered.

Lu Bai noticed Yue Qianshan and his group from Wu Country, but he didn’t approach to greet them.

‘With the Mountain Demon Hat and the Fuyao Skill, it’s safer for me to be alone in this great tomb. I can come and go as I please.’

‘If I traveled with Yue Qianshan’s group, I’d just attract the attention of other experts.’

More and more True Master Golden Cores and Nascent Soul True Monarchs were gathering near the mountain peak.

The ones who had managed to arrive were the Cultivators and Martial Artists closest to the Longling Mountain Range.

Everyone was waiting for the Restriction within the great tomb to dissipate.

From the discussions of nearby Cultivators, he heard that the tomb’s Restriction was constantly weakening. It wouldn’t be long before it opened.

Lu Bai found a corner, sat down cross-legged, and began to cultivate the Piercing Fire Chapter.

‘My Martial Dao Realm has already hit a bottleneck. I’ll need a Demon Beast Inner Core to advance.’

‘The great tomb could open any second. I might as well use this spare time to continue my Qi Refining.’

Lu Bai silently circulated the Heart Method of the Piercing Fire Chapter. He visualized a candle flame, striving to capture the ambient Fire Spirit Qi in the world around him.

Time trickled by.

「In the blink of an eye, a day had passed.」

More and more experts arrived near the great tomb. Lu Bai would occasionally open his eyes to survey the scene. He made a rough mental calculation: ‘There are already over a thousand Golden Core Realm experts alone!’

‘And there must be dozens of Nascent Soul True Monarchs!’

‘If the tomb’s Restriction doesn’t break soon, who knows how many more will show up.’

Another six hours passed.

As dusk settled, Lu Bai felt a jolt. A wisp of Spiritual Qi gradually gathered and sank into his Dantian, where it coiled and slithered like a Spiritual Snake.

‘Success!’

‘First-Layer Qi Refining!’

Lu Bai breathed a sigh of relief.

‘After cultivating for so long, I’ve finally crossed the threshold into Cultivation.’

‘This cultivation speed… I guess this is what you’d expect from a Wasted Spirit Root.’

He lamented inwardly, but still felt a surge of excitement.

‘At the First-Layer of Qi Refining, I can finally use a Storage Pouch.’

‘I can stuff all these scattered treasures I’m carrying—the Five Emperors Gold Coin Sword, the Cyan Cloud Sword, and the rest—into a pouch instead of having to lug them around all day.’

‘And I have three Storage Pouches on me.’

‘I got one from the skeleton at Black Tiger Stream.’

‘I got another from Jiao Wei, the Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator of the Xuanjian Sect.’

‘And I got a third when I killed True Master Dan Ding outside Fujiao Manor.’

‘This is the perfect time to see what treasures are inside them.’

Initially, there had been no one near the spot where Lu Bai was cultivating.

But after a day, several True Master Golden Cores had appeared in the vicinity.

A few Demon Beasts were also loitering nearby.

Lu Bai stood up and moved further away, finding a secluded spot before taking out the Storage Pouch he had gotten from the skeleton. He then tried to activate it with the Spiritual Qi from his Dantian.

The Spiritual Qi flowed from his fingertip onto the Storage Pouch, but it felt like it hit an invisible barrier, causing no reaction whatsoever.

After several attempts, he was still unable to open the Storage Pouch.

‘What’s going on?’

Lu Bai mulled it over for a moment and came to a likely conclusion.

‘Even though these Storage Pouches are ownerless, they probably still have residual Restrictions left by their previous owners. I’m only at the First-Layer of Qi Refining; it’s impossible for me to erase them.’

Lu Bai tucked the pouch away and took out Jiao Wei’s Storage Pouch.

‘Jiao Wei was a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator, so the Restriction on his pouch should be the weakest.’

‘If I can’t even open this one, there’s no point in trying True Master Dan Ding’s.’

Lu Bai tried, but again, he couldn’t open it.

‘Looks like I won’t be able to open any of these three pouches for a while, no matter what’s inside.’

‘I’ll have to find a chance to buy a fresh, unowned Storage Pouch later.’

Lu Bai put the matter aside for the time being.

Just then, the light emanating from the mountaintop suddenly changed.

Dazzling beams of light suddenly erupted from the summit, lighting up the night sky and revealing the surrounding forests and fields in minute detail.

But the light was like a final, fleeting flare; it lasted only for a moment before vanishing completely.

A brief calm fell over the world.

An instant later, a figure shot into the air, rushing toward the summit!

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Figure after figure rose into the air, riding flying swords, auspicious clouds, or rosy glows. Each displayed their own Divine Powers as they sped toward the summit.

“ROAR!”

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar echoed as a massive lion strode through the air from the distance. It was covered in long, crimson fur that danced about its majestic form as if it were wreathed in flames.

A Tier Four Demon Beast—a Nascent Soul Realm Blazing Fire Lion!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

A silver streak flashed across the mountain peak, showering sparks from beneath it. It was a Centipede over ten feet long, its massive body moving with uncanny agility.

In the blink of an eye, it scurried into the opening at the summit.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A giant, thirty-foot-tall demon ape descended from the sky. Each time it landed, it would immediately leap again, making the ground tremble violently and sending dirt flying.

In just a few bounds, it charged into the summit opening and vanished.

Human Race Cultivators, Martial Artists, and a horde of Demon Beasts all swarmed inside.

Lu Bai didn’t rush in immediately.

He wasn’t the only one. The other Golden Core Realm experts were also waiting.

The first ones to charge into the great tomb were all Nascent Soul Realm experts and Demon Beasts. If the Golden Core cultivators rushed in with them and provoked the ire of a Nascent Soul expert, they’d be dead before they even laid eyes on any treasure.

Lu Bai noticed Yue Qianshan and a heroic-looking woman charge into the summit opening side by side.

He had once heard that General Longxiang was a woman named Xiao Qingyu. ‘That must be her,’ he thought.

After all the Nascent Soul Realm experts had entered the peak, a True Master Golden Core finally made a move!

There were only dozens of Nascent Soul Realm experts, but the number of True Master Golden Cores and True Master Martial Daos near the peak already exceeded a thousand!

In the sky, figures flew from all directions, converging on the summit.

“This is the great tomb of a Human Race expert! What right does a beast like you have to defile it?”

A giant python had just reached the summit when it was ambushed and killed by several True Master Golden Cores acting together. Their Flying Swords flashed, dicing the python into several segments, and one of them snatched its Inner Core.

“CAW! CAW!”

A piercing cry echoed from mid-air.

A jet-black crow suddenly dove into the crowd. Taking advantage of the chaos, its sharp beak shattered the Skull of a True Master Martial Dao. It then shot back into the air and flew off, leaving a trail of furious curses in its wake.

Blood had been shed before anyone had even entered the great tomb, let alone seen any treasure.

Unwilling to get entangled with the crow and risk falling behind, the many True Master Golden Cores quickly rushed into the opening at the summit.

Lu Bai blended into the crowd, reached the summit, and dove down with everyone else.

Below them was a vast expanse of dense fog, completely obscuring their vision.

After descending for a few moments, the fog dissipated, and the scene before them opened up.

Four incredibly grand and majestic structures appeared before them.

They weren’t so much tomb chambers as they were four ancient palaces!